I met Marco once, before the night he took me. He’d been dark and unquestionably dangerous, and alluring in a way I didn’t allow myself to contemplate. I’d clung to Joseph, looking to my first love to protect me from his intimidating best friend.

Then Joseph left me, alone and broken; vulnerable to enemies I hadn’t known threatened me from the shadows.

But it wasn’t his enemies I should have feared, since his best friend is the monster who abducted me. And when I wake up, taken and trapped, the man I love is by the monster’s side.

Joseph says he can’t let me go. Marco says he won’t let me go.

I’m theirs.

About the Author:

Julia Sykes is the USA Today bestselling author of the Impossible Series. She has always kept dark stories tucked away in her mind, so she was thrilled when she discovered that other people actually want to read them. Her books blend romance, suspense, and BDSM.

You can usually find Julia in Starbucks with a venti iced coffee clutched in her hand (two pumps of mocha, liberal half and half). If she's not in Starbucks, you will find her with a glass of prosecco in hand, probably reading Harry Potter. Again.

Julia loves connecting with readers! Please feel free to contact her on facebook, through twitter, or email her directly at juliasykes193@gmail.com. You can find out more about Julia's current and future projects at julia-sykes.com.

With one uncharacteristically sassy tweet to her longtime celebrity crush, Zoe Miller’s life turns upside down. Ultrahot A-lister Chase Covington doesn’t just respond to Zoe’s tweet, he does the unthinkable: he messages Zoe directly. Now she must decide between walking away or meeting her crush in person.

Chase knows better than to trust anyone from the Internet, but Zoe’s saucy challenge has totally caught his interest—and her girl-next-door personality is keeping it. He’s been burned enough to know he needs to keep his heart close. But his feelings for Zoe might be a lot more than just an online flirtation. He just has to convince her…

When the press gets wind of Zoe and Chase’s secret relationship, their romance turns into tabloid headlines. Will they be able to hold on to their Hollywood love story?

Pre Order on Amazon Today

Bestselling author Sariah Wilson has never jumped out of an airplane, never climbed Mt. Everest, and is not a former CIA operative. She has, however, been madly, passionately in love with her soulmate and is a fervent believer in happily ever afters--which is why she writes romance. She has published many happily ever after stories. She grew up in southern California, graduated from Brigham Young University (go Cougars!) with a semi-useless degree in history, and is the oldest of nine (yes, nine) children. She currently lives with the aforementioned soulmate and their four children in Utah, along with three tiger barb fish, a cat named Tiger, and a recently departed hamster that is buried in the backyard (and has nothing at all to do with tigers).

Empty inside, cold in his heart, Zef turned to whisky and drugs to fill the void.

Instead, he ended up with a prison sentence and a new determination to get clean and make something of his life.

Since his release, Zef has been on the road, finding his spiritual home with a traveling carnival and working as a motorcycle stunt rider.

Live fast, live hard, keep moving.

He doesn’t want to be tied down to anyone or anything. Fiercely loyal, the only people he cares about are his brother and his carnie family.

Until a crazy girl who’s run away to join the circus crashes into his world.But now his old life is catching up with him, and Zef has to choose a new road.

A standalone story, and the last one in the TRAVELING SERIES.

It wouldn’t have been so bad if I’d landed on my good leg, but I didn’t, and the pain was so intense, my vision went black and all I knew was deafening silence.

I woke up a few seconds later wondering if I’d died and gone to Heaven, because the view was pretty damn good and surely an Angel was watching over me. But as my vision cleared, I realized that Sara was on her knees in the dirt next to me. I think she was screaming, but my ears were ringing so badly, I couldn’t tell.

“…call an ambulance?”

I struggled to sit up, but she held me down by my shoulders.

“What?”

Kes was next to me, lifting my visor carefully.

“Wait for the paramedics, man.”

Flames of pain were running up from my ankle to my thigh.

“I think I fucked up my knee again,” I groaned.

“Does anything else hurt?”

“Only my pride,” I lied.

Kes grinned and I heard Tucker’s relieved laugh behind me. I squinted up at him.

“Everyone else okay?”

“Yeah, Zef,” he grinned. “We’re all good. You certainly gave the crowd their money’s worth. Can you do that again?”

Then Sara screamed at him.

“Shut up! Shut up! He could have died! He’s hurt! He’s really hurt, and you’re just making a big joke of it!”

And she flung herself across my body, gasping and crying. I thought she was going to have a complete meltdown when the paramedics tried to pull her off me.

“Sara, honey,” I gritted out while my whole body felt like it had been run over by a charging rhino, “they’ll do a much better job of getting me onto a stretcher if you climb off of me now.”

“Oh!”

She stumbled back, wiping her eyes and nose as I helped the paramedics get me onto the stretcher.

The crowd was on their feet, expressions of interest or horror, depending on how macabre they liked their shows, so I gave them a quick wave and heard applause and cries of relief.

“We’ll see you at the hospital,” Kes called after me.

I gave him a thumbs up, then relaxed back on the stretcher, my knee throbbing like a mofo. Sara was walking next to me, still crying, so I lifted up my gloved hand and she clung onto it as if it would save her from drowning.

But waking up and seeing her sweet face, thinking it felt like Heaven, I wondered if I was the one who was drowning.

Writing is my passion and my obsession. I write every day and I love it. My head is full of stories and characters. I'll never keep up with all my ideas!

I live in a small village by the ocean and walk my little dog, Pip, every day. It’s on those beachside walks that I have all my best ideas.

Writing has become a way of life – and one that I love to share.

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Not that I care, but he’s made it clear he wants nothing to do with a quirky girl like me, which is why he said no.

Turns out no isn’t an option.

I have a quickie wedding to plan, and Dr. Jake Kissinger doesn’t have a choice. He looks at our situation like he’s stuck with me, but in reality I’m stuck with him. Stuck with his pouty mouth. His long, lean body. And stuck with those loose, low riding scrub pants. (Okay, so the doctor thing is growing on me.)

When spending time together turns into more than it should, I know I’m in trouble.

He isn’t supposed to make my heart pound.

I’m not supposed to make him look twice.

And we aren’t supposed to spend the night together. (Okay, so he has more than one artistic vein in his body, and other places.)

Falling for him is definitely a mistake.

Here’s the thing…

Jake is unavailable, and I know it.

Just not in the way you might think.

I guess you can’t have your cake and eat it too.

EXCERPT:

THE THING ABOUT LOVE

By Kim Karr

Copyright 2017

If a barn could be magical, this one was definitely enchanting.

I was in a daze as I looked around. The rafters. The tables. The river. They all seemed to sparkle with a light I wanted to capture.

“Isn’t that right, sweetie?” The voice was deep and husky, but I was in my own world imaging what I could do with a place like this and not paying any attention.

An elbow nudged me, and it wasn’t until then that I realized I was sweetie.

Sweetie?

Seriously, the man with the DR before his name couldn’t find something a little sexier in his vocabulary to call me? Sugarcakes. Honeypie. Cookie, even.

“What’s that Chocolate Cake?” I smiled big and wide when I said it. Obviously, he was giving this little show all he had, so I figured I might as well, too.

Ignoring my taunt, Jake draped an arm around my chair just as Shania Twain’s “Any Man of Mine” came bellowing through the speakers.

When his fingertips brushed my shoulder, I wasn’t listening to the beat of the music though because butterflies took flight in my belly, and lower. I had to remind myself that this was part of the show, but still, I found myself having to squeeze my thighs together to sooth the ache his touch had ignited.

“I was just telling George how much you love to dance. Especially square dance,” he said.

I had been reaching for my water, and I practically spilled it when he said that. Was he out of his ever-loving mind? I didn’t know a thing about country dancing other than the fact that the word do-si-do had something to do with it.

I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “Yes, big boy, I do like to dance, but you know I prefer to watch you line dance because you’re so great at it. Besides, don’t forget, I did hurt my ankle not that long ago.”

His grin was beyond wicked. “You can be a klutz sometimes, but I seem to recall you assuring me your ankle was absolutely fine, and after I checked it out, I did concur with your self-diagnosis.”

Ethel tapped George on the shoulder, and when he looked at her, she whispered something in his ear.

“Did you say you wanted to dance, Jules?” George asked me over the music.

Before I could say no, George was on his feet and standing beside me with his hand extended. “Would you do me the honor of having this dance with me?”

Like I could say no now.

He really was so sweet. Dr. Kiss, on the other hand, well he was the devil reincarnated. “I’d be delighted,” I said and glared at Jake as I stood.

“Have fun, Sweetie,” Jake grinned.

I bent to whisper in his ear. “While I’m gone, do you think you could come up with something to call me that doesn’t make you sound like you might be George’s age.”

He narrowed that blue-eyed stare at me.

Satisfied with that, I pivoted around and didn’t look back.

The bridesmaids, in their short, peach dresses and cowboy boots, were having a blast stomping their feet and clapping their hands all while shaking their behinds and pressing their thumbs into their sides.

How on earth were George and I going to dance to this?

Thank God just when we reached the center of the dance floor, the music changed, and Tim McGraw’s voice came overhead. As Tim sang about how no one ever made him feel the way she did, George and I stepped into position.

He took my hands and started to move, ballroom style. This type of dancing I knew how to do. “So,” he said, “When are you and Jake planning on getting hitched?”

Up until now, I had been able to twist what I said so it didn’t sound like a blatant lie, but this question was pretty straightforward. “We haven’t decided yet.”

Which was true. In fact, we hadn’t decided a lot. Like as a starting point, if we were friends or enemies.

“I noticed you ain’t wearing a ring. He not gotten you one yet?”

“That’s complicated,” I answered.

And it was. He hadn’t gotten me one and he never would because he didn’t even like me, and after tonight, I was fairly certain he wouldn’t be able to stand me.

“Well, he’s a good man. Give him some time. He’ll come around.”

Yes, he’d come around all right. Come around to telling me I was fired, which reminded me of Finn.

Where had he gotten his information?

I leaned back. “Is Labor Day weekend available for a wedding?”

George started to laugh. “You’ll give the man a heart attack if you make him move that fast.”

“Oh, I know, but just in case, is it?”

“As a matter of fact, it might be. A lad called here today inquiring about it though, and I told him to come up and see the place before I reserved it for him. Since he ain’t shown, I reckon it could be yours.”

“Good to know.” I winked.

He raised a curious brow.

I shrugged. “Just in case.”

Yes, just in case I decided to come clean. And just in case I could figure out how this place was suitable for Rory. But even as I thought it, I knew it wasn’t.

I nearly missed a step when I caught a glimpse of Jake leaning against the wall, watching us.

He threw me off, and I had to order myself to tune back into George for the remainder of the dance. My lack of focus had to cease right now because the bottom line was that at the moment I couldn’t allow myself to be thrown off course.

When the music ended, I stepped back and curtsied.

“Thanks for indulging me.” George gave my hand a squeeze. “You and the Doc are really quite a couple.”

“Thank you,” I told him, but I knew I should have been correcting him instead. I hated the lie, but I couldn’t undo it now, nor could I stop what he was doing. George had signaled Jake over, and he had started to move.

All tall, dark, and handsome, he strutted my way with a cat that ate the canary grin on his face. I wanted to wipe it away—with my lips.

No, I didn’t mean that.

“It’s your turn,” George told him.

“Oh, but he only likes to line dance,” I said.

George laughed like it was a joke and strode toward his Ethel, who had started clearing the buffet table.

“May I?” Jake asked, all debonair-like.

“I don’t know, may you?”

He shook his head. “Just give me your hands, will you? I’d hate to ruin George and Ethel’s night by admitting this was all a ruse.”

“Grrr…You are so frustrating,” I said offering my hands.

He laced his fingers in mine and drew me close. “Did you just growl?”

With a frown, I placed my hands on his shoulders. “I did no such thing.”

His hands fit my waist like they were made for me. “Yes, you did. And smile, they’re looking at us.”

Forcing myself to keep the corners of my mouth tilted upwards was very difficult because I could barely breathe when he slid his thigh between mine.

The crowd surged around us, and just like that, I forgot this wasn’t real. We were aligned thigh-to-thigh, belly-to-belly. If I turned my head, our mouths would be close enough to kiss.

Silly thought.

We moved together, and when my hands slid from his shoulder to cup the back of his neck, the edges of his soft brown hair tickled my knuckles. The heat of his skin was almost too much, as was the feel of his body so close to mine.

When his fingers splayed against my back and lingered there, I could have sworn the music thumped in the pit of my stomach, my wrists, and especially between my thighs

“What are you doing?” I asked.

He moved closer to me. “I believe it’s called dancing.”

“Are you still acting? Because if you are, George and Ethel are no longer watching us.” I whispered this in his ear.

“Does it matter?” he answered back, and when he did his breath caressed my ear.

“Do you want it to?”

He pulled back to look into my eyes, his smile less bemused and his gaze bright. “Do you always answer a question with a question?”

“Only when…I’m talking to you.” My hesitation sounded coy, but I hadn’t meant it to. Scared of something, but no idea what of, I said, “This place isn’t that bad. It just needs some more sparkle.”

“Sparkle?”

“Yes, like crystal chandeliers hanging from the beams.”

He chuckled. “I don’t think crystal chandeliers are George and Ethel’s style.”

“No,” I said. “We should probably go. You were right to begin with, this place isn’t appropriate for your sister’s wedding.”

All of a sudden, the music ended, and before I could say another word, I was being pushed into a very grabby crowd of women.

Oh, no! The bouquet toss.

I had to get out of here. I bent down and crawled around, through, and practically under, a number of jumping cowboy boots.

“One.”

“Two.”

“Three.”

Rushing out of the side of the crowd, I stood up, and I could hardly believe it when the bouquet landed at my feet.

Without thinking, I picked it up to throw it back into the crowd, but it was too late.

“Oh Jules, you caught it.” It was Ethel, and she was escorting me to the front of the room. When I saw George leading Jake there as well, I wanted to end this charade.

It was too much to handle.

Having him so close was too much to handle.

He was too much to handle.

George and Ethel pushed us both together, and all of the girls started chanting, “Seal the deal. Seal the deal.”

“What are they talking about?” Jake muttered.

“Kiss her, Doc,” George clarified for me, and before either of us could step away from each other, George and Ethel were once again pushing us together.

I landed against Jake’s hard chest. My mouth flew open in surprise, and a small sigh escaped. My lips were so close to his. Tantalizingly close. I wanted to close the distance so very much.

He was breathing heavy, and I could see the muscle twitch at his temple, witness how tight his jaw was. Everything about him screamed he was holding himself back.

We were both losing that battle though.

Whether out of obligation, pressure, or need, his mouth came crashing down over mine, in the hardest, heated, and most demanding way.

Oh, God, I wanted this.

Wanted him.

Especially when his tongue pushed inward, hot and sensual. It glided over mine as he licked at the roof of my mouth and swirled around my tongue in the most erotic dance.

His lips were so soft.

His mouth so hot.

His possession unlike any I’d ever experienced.

I could hear the catcalls, but ignored them all because he wasn’t simply kissing me, he wasn’t just sealing the deal, he was devouring me.

In that moment, any other man I’d ever kissed faded away.

No one had ever kissed me this way.

About the Author:

Kim Karr is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author.

She grew up in Rochester, NY and now lives in Florida with her husband and four kids. She’s always had a love for reading books and writing. Being an English major in college, she wanted to teach at the college level but that was not to be. She went on to receive an MBA and became a project manager until quitting to raise her family. Kim currently works part-time with her husband and recently decided to embrace one of her biggest passions–writing.

Kim wears a lot of hats! Writer, book-lover, wife, soccer-mom, taxi driver, and the all around go-to person of her family. However, she always finds time to read. One of her favorite family outings was taking her kids when they were little to the bookstore or the library. Today, Kim’s oldest child is seventeen and no longer goes with her on these, now rare and infrequent, outings. She finds that she doesn’t need to go on them anymore because she has the greatest device ever invented–a Kindle.

Kim likes to believe in soul mates, kindred spirits, true friends, and Happily-Ever-Afters. She loves to drink champagne, listen to music, and hopes to always stay young at heart.

Cam has been the king of college basketball for the past three years. Every season he dominates the basketball scene, and the entire country loves him. Well, everyone except for the only girl whose attention he actually wants.

REESE BRADLEY

As the new trainer for the men’s basketball team at North Calhoun University, Reese literally can’t stay away from the cocky star forward. She tends to avoid Cam’s type. The big-man-on-campus, alpha male type. But she’s finding it very difficult to ignore him and his relentless flirting.

THERE’S JUST ONE PROBLEM

Reese is the coach’s daughter. Cam’s coach has made it very clear that all members of his team are to keep their hands off Reese, no exceptions. With his final season at NCU under way, the last thing Cam needs is for his team’s dynamic to be screwed up, all because he couldn’t keep from screwing the coach’s daughter. He has to stay far away from her if he wants to take his team all the way.

MAKE THAT TWO PROBLEMS

Trey Warren. Point guard for NCU’s rival school. A.k.a., Cam’s long-time arch rival and coincidentally, Reese’s greatest nemesis. Trey is the one person who can send Cam’s basketball empire crumbling to the ground. Not to mention make matters between Cam and Reese even more complicated.

As the highly publicized rivalry between Cam and Trey intensifies, the attraction between Cam and Reese heats up to scorching levels. No matter what, they know they have to resist each other. The more they deny their feelings, though, the stronger the pull between them becomes. But can they withstand secrets, betrayals, rivalries, and the ever-present press? Even if they break all the rules, will they be strong enough to fight through the forces conspiring against them?

AFTER ALL, EVEN KINGS CAN BE OVERTHROWN…

Reese

As I walked back through the locker room and shut myself into a stall, a wave of self-assuredness swept over me. It wasn’t fake confidence this time, either. I could do this. I’d earned this spot, dammit. I’d spent my entire life working my ass off studying and reading. I had pushed a lot of things to the back burner—like having a social life—in order to focus on school.
And an uncomfortable situation with my father was not going to screw that up.
I stepped out of the stall and washed my hands, lost in my thoughts. I knew I had the goofiest smile imaginable pasted on my face. That was, until I walked back into the locker room and saw it.
An ass.
A naked ass.
On a guy. It was a guy’s naked ass, right in my face.
I briefly glimpsed a tall, tanned body with rippling muscles all down his back before my eyes fell right back to that perfectly sculpted butt. A light smattering of dark blond hair was sprinkled across his hamstrings, which pulled, tightening with every move he made.
God, what a sight.
I unwittingly emitted some sort of throaty sound that was a mix between a sigh and a groan. Which was really unfortunate because, of course, he heard it and whipped around to face me, immediately covering his goods with a white T-shirt. His blue eyes were wide and beautiful but…angry.
Shit, he was pissed.
“Can I help you?” he snapped.
Oh.
My.
God.
I knew who this was. I’d seen his chiseled face a million times, though never in person. I’d watched him dominate the court over the years, I’d heard his deep baritone voice on TV. Hell, the entire country knew who he was.
This was Cam freaking Donovan.
And I’d just seen his ass.
Where was that ending of the world when you needed it?

Cam

What the fuck?
Who the hell was this chick? And why the shit was she in our locker room? Then realization dawned.
Oh, you have got to be kidding me.
She must have followed me in here or something. A stalker maybe? Trying to get a glimpse of Cam Donovan in his skivvies? Maybe she had some type of weird obsession. I didn’t have the patience to deal with this bullshit today. I was late getting to practice because of a stupid interview for a TV spot that the university insisted I do. So, I had already been in a piss-poor mood before I walked in here.
This just pushed my rage over the edge.
“Look, I don’t know what your deal is,” I bit out, “but you’re not allowed to be in here. You need to leave now.”
She’d been standing there stock-still, mouth ajar, like a deer in headlights. But at my curt command, she finally snapped out of her trance and shook her head.
Then she blushed. Hard.
“No, sorry—I’m actually…um.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again, addressing me with more certainty. “I’m the team’s new student trainer. My name’s Reese.”
My mind screeched to a halt. Now that was interesting.
“Trainer, huh?” I asked, becoming more intrigued by the second.
She nodded. “Yeah. I just needed to use the restroom, and I didn’t think anyone was in here. I’m sorry.”
I noticed she went back and forth between making eye contact and looking over my head, obviously trying to avoid lowering her gaze to, well…the rest of me. I’d almost forgotten I wasn’t wearing anything and was currently covering my junk with a T-shirt. Not that it bothered me, but she was clearly uncomfortable.
That’s when I really took her in from head to toe. She didn’t look much like a trainer. Probably because I was so used to old Gus and the rest of my doctors, who were all over the age of fifty. She looked to be about my age, though. And the fact that she was wearing tight ripped jeans and a faded “Middle Earth’s Annual Mordor Fun Run” T-shirt added to my curiosity.
But one thing was certain after barely glancing at her.
Our new trainer was hot.

Author of the Slow Seductions, Cruz Brothers, Possession and Politics, and Timid Souls series, Melanie is a true romantic at heart. She loves writing the cheesy and corny of romantic comedies, and the sassy and sexy of suspenses. She aims to make her readers swoon, laugh out loud, maybe sweat a little, and above all, fall in love. And she loves her some strong alpha males and sassy heroines.

She has a horrible food addiction to pasta and candy (not together…ew). And she gets sad when her wine rack is empty.

Go visit Melanie's website and sign up for her newsletter to stay updated on release dates, teasers, and other details for all of her projects!

http://www.melaniemunton.com/

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